Of All Places
by potato42069
Summary: A series of Tomadashi AUs. Length varies.
1. Four Seasons

**A/N:** Oh, heckie. Guess who's back to crapping out Tomadashi. So instead of spamming my profile with a crapload of stories (I definitely didn't expect to be writing as much as I did), I've decided make a different AU per chapter. (AUs are based on general suggestions I see on tumblr, although y'all are more than welcome to suggest a few.) This one got real lengthy because I did have to cram a whole year into one chapter (and you thought _Not-So-Real-ationship_ was bad) but I didn't want to resort to another multichap fic, so I apologize for that.

/sorry for any typos! It was late as I was finishing this.

* * *

**. Four Seasons .**

**AU: **Our friend group is studying abroad for a year and we're the only two staying behind.

* * *

**Fall.**

"Oh, I'm going to miss you _so much!_" Honey Lemon cried, pulling GoGo into a crushing hug.

"You're only going for a year, not forever," GoGo said, patting her blonde friend on the back. "Although..." She raised an eyebrow at all three of her friends - Honey Lemon, Wasabi, and Fred - "All three of you studying abroad at the same time? You guys trying to ditch me?"

"Hey now, you were the one that decided to stay behind," Wasabi reminded her, pulling her in a hug as well.

"Well, I don't exactly know what traffic rules are like overseas."

"Like you care."

GoGo smacked his arm as she pulled away. It was a friendly gesture, but that didn't stop him from wincing every time.

"Besides, it's not like you'll be all alone!" Honey reminded her, pointing to the tall boy with the baseball cap talking to the comic nerd. "Tadashi's staying behind, too."

GoGo frowned, resting her hands on her hips. "I don't talk to him, though."

"Why not? We've been in the same friend group for about a year now."

She shrugged. "It's not like I _dislike_ him, but... I just don't know him that well."

"Well, now you have a year-long opportunity! And if you ask me" - Honey's voice dropped to a whisper - "he's quite the catch, don't you think?"

Wasabi looked like if he'd been drinking, he would have sputtered it out on the floor.

"Shut the hell up, Honey," GoGo said, rolling her eyes.

"Just a thought!"

"Honey, you need to cut it out with the soap operas," Wasabi sighed.

"And just think - maybe they'll have, like, _British_ mutants! How awesome will that be?" Fred was exclaiming, flopping his hands about excitedly.

"I mean, considering it's _Paris _you guys are going to," Tadashi mused, grinning, "maybe some superheroes would disguise themselves as mimes or something."

"You two!" Honey beckoned the two. "One last photo! Say, 'Abroad!'"

The group bunched up together and gave their cheesiest smiles as they said, "Abroad!" in unison. Fred pulled Tadashi and GoGo into one last tearful hug (GoGo caught a whiff of what she thought was expired cheese) as their three friends waved good-bye and entered security check-in before dissolving into the crowded line completely.

Tadashi swung Wasabi's keys around his finger and glanced at GoGo. "So," he said awkwardly, "need a ride home?"

"We all did kind of come in the same car," GoGo reminded, blowing a bubble.

"Right." He shoved the keys and his pockets and flashed a polite smile. "You want to grab a bite or something before I drop his van off?"

Shrug. "I guess."

...

GoGo kept her headphones plugged in and Tadashi kept his eyes on the road, so neither said anything during the ride. It wasn't until they were seated in their booth and looking over the breakfast menu that either so much as glanced at each other.

"So... what are you getting?" Tadashi asked, peeking over his menu.

"Omelette," GoGo replied simply, chewing her gum.

"You gonna keep that gum in your mouth, or...?"

"I'll spit it out when the food gets here."

An dead silence followed after the waiter took their orders.

"You ever think it's weird?" he asked.

"The waiter?"

"No, I mean... we've been in the same friend group for a year and we've never really talked to each other." He grinned crookedly. "You'd think we'd at least know our favorite colors or something by now."

"Yellow and purple."

He chuckled, just a bit. "Okay - mine's red and blue."

"Interesting."

"Yeah..." Thinking she probably wasn't going to pursue it, he went back to fiddling with his fork.

"It's not like we ever had the same classes or anything," she mumbled, blowing another bubble.

"Well... that could change this semester, right?"

"Who knows."

"Got a squad outside those three?"

Flashback to roaring biker girls and multiple jail cell buddies in high school. "Uh... nope."

"That makes two of us."

...

"Liar," GoGo snapped as Tadashi seated himself at her table in the dining center.

He blinked in confusion. "What?"

"You said you didn't have a group outside us, but I swear to God, you were just greeted by, like, fifteen different people."

"And?"

"And you had a five-minute or something convo with that group over there." She gestured to laughing table with her chin.

"They're just friendly. They're not exactly _my_ group or anything." He dug at his pasta with his fork. "Besides, you looked lonely."

She scoffed. "I don't get_ lonely._"

"Even without those guys? For a year?"

"I'll find something to do."

Tadashi adjusted his cap. "So, um... you could always stop by the café if you wanted. You know, Lucky Cat?"

"Yeah, we've all been there."

"My aunt has a special on chocolates on Fridays," he offered.

GoGo leaned forward. "I'm listening."

...

"Hey, there you are!" Tadashi called, waving to GoGo as she swung the door open and gave a simple two-fingered salute. She spotted his apron and the broom in his hand. "I'll be on lunch break soon, so - "

"Take your time," she said, pulling out a chair.

He soon came out with two fraps ("On the house," he said cheerfully), and the two spent the next hour talking about school and their projects and joking about what shenanigans the rest of the gang were getting into in France.

And it felt oddly pleasant.

...

They started greeting each other in the lab - Tadashi with his cheery smile, GoGo with her usual salute. It just so happened their schedules allowed for the same time off, and those days they'd just sit around and make smalltalk, which turned into conversations about their majors and career paths and families... GoGo's café visits even became weekly. (Although it was just for those chocolate specials, she assured him.)

...

**Winter.**

It never snowed in the city, but its people sure had a low tolerance for even the most moderate of cold weather. Which of course meant somebody in the lab had to wear a thicker coat than necessary.

"Seriously, Hamada? It's, like, fifty degrees," GoGo said in exasperation, wearing only her leather jacket and a pair of leggings.

"Well, don't come to me complaining when you catch a cold," he retorted, retreating to his own room. "And it's only gonna get colder at night. Just FYI!"

She only had to wait until dark to figure out he wasn't lying, but she'd be damned if she was pathetic enough to admit it was indeed too cold out. And of course she picked today of all days to take a nice walk to campus.

"Leaving?" a certain baseball cap enthusiast asked, slinging his satchel over his arm.

She gritted her teeth and glared out the window. "Yep."

Tadashi frowned and glanced out with her. "It's dark out."

"That's a phenomenon called nighttime."

"I've noticed. You sure it's safe out there?"

"Trust me, Hamada, this isn't the worst thing in the world."

"Mm. You need a ride home?"

Truthfully, if it meant getting out of the cold faster, then absolutely, but of course stubbornness put up a fight. "It's not _that _cold."

"I never said anything about it being cold." A smug look came over his face. "What street did you live on, again?"

His moped was a rusty, archaic thing and went a million times slower than her bike for sure. But his back felt warm, and maybe he wouldn't notice if she rested her freezing cheeks against it, clenching his torso a little tighter.

The nerd even waited for her to walk in the house before chugging away with one last goofy wave. Her cheeks definitely felt warmer, but only because his back had been warm. Definitely.

...

"Ho, ho, ho," GoGo declared as a weary Tadashi stumbled into the lab, substituting his baseball cap with a floppy Santa hat. It was mostly empty, given that it was the weekend, but GoGo had forgotten about adjustments she needed to make on her project before her presentation on Monday. She wasn't sure what he was doing there. "Do I get presents for being a good kid this year?"

He looked at her with confusion before his eyebrows shot up and he immediately yanked the hat from his head. "Cass decided to do some Christmas event thing at the café," he explained quickly. "For kids."

"Lemme guess - you were Santa?"

"Wow, you shut up."

"No one questioned Asian Santa?"

"You know, on any other day an old White guy sneaking into your house through the chimney warrants an arrest for breaking and entering. I don't think Asian Santa is the weirdest thing."

"You're being a real Grinch, aren't ya?" she asked with a smirk. Tadashi Hamada was usually a nice guy, sure, but it was extremely entertaining watching him be a sleep-deprived grouch every once in a while.

"I'm the perpetual Santa and I say you're on the naughty list."

Tired as he was, GoGo snatched the hat with ease and dangled it in his face, pulling it out of reach just as he was about to catch it.

"Cut it out!" he cried. "I have another shift tonight!"

"So go as Rudolph!" she teased. Unfortunately Santa Hamada towered over her and reclaimed his hat in no time, shoving it in his satchel. He looked smug, so he probably wasn't too irritated.

"Anyway," he said, "gotta get to work. I need to finish some parts on Baymax before break."

"You got it, Mr. Claus."

"What about you? You have plans?"

"Nah. My parents decided to go out of the country for the month. Without me. Isn't that grand?"

"First our friends and now your family? Wow, you must've done something _bad._" She shot a punch. "Ow! Kidding!"

"I know," she said, nonchalantly examining her nails.

"I was just thinking," he mumbled, rubbing his arm, "I mean, if you're really not doing anything... you want to spend Christmas at our place?"

"Excuse me?"

"W-well, I mean, that's - if you're not... I mean, I understand if you're busy, but my aunt always makes too much cake, and - "

The corner of her lips pulled. "Yeah, I guess I have nothing better to do."

...

GoGo Tomago was never admitting in a million years she'd spent the better of an hour picking what outfit and makeup to wear, and she was definitely never admitting she nearly opened up Skype to call Honey Lemon for - god forbid - fashion advice. She'd settled on a white cardigan and jeans with a few hair clips (couldn't have anyone thinking she tried too hard), and Tadashi may or may not have done a double take at entrance.

"Ooh, Tadashi, is that _her?_" she heard a woman call from inside.

He just rolled his eyes and invited her up the stairs. The apartment looked a little cramped, with a tree in the corner and slippers strewn about the floor and a cat chomping on the wrapping papers, but it smelled of roast chicken and vanilla and GoGo felt like she was in a Hallmark card.

"Aunt Cass, Hiro, this is GoGo," Tadashi announced. She gave her little salute.

"So is she a friend, or a _'friend'?_" Hiro asked from the couch, keeping his eyes glued to a tiny robot in his hands.

"_Hiro!_"

The store-bought cookies GoGo brought had nothing on Cass's cooking for sure. The evening was filled with probably the most chatter she'd had in her life, although she was mostly laughing at when-Tadashi-was-eight-and-ripped-his-pants-at-show-and-tell stories, much to his horror.

"I'm telling everyone when they get back," GoGo said mischievously as he saw her out the door.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Then you'd better stay on my good side."

"Hrmph." Tadashi stroked his chin in thought before pulling out a box neatly wrapped in red paper. "Does this count?"

She paused and accepted it hesitantly. "I didn't - "

"You came," he said, grinning. "And brought the cookies."

"Well..." She fumbled with her hair clips. "Thanks."

"It's nothing. Actually, I..." He leaned in closer and closer, leaving but a thin wall of space between their faces. "I..." _Thump. Thump. Thump._ She clutched her chest as if that would make it stop. Finally, he sighed and said, "Merry Christmas," drawing back.

Her heartbeat slowed, and an odd feeling overcame her. What was it? "Um, yeah... you, too. Merry Christmas, Hamada."

Tadashi merely waved with a smile and shut the door.

Her cheeks warmed again, but it felt less like _warmth_ and more like _burning_. The Hamadas must have turned their temperature up too high... that was it. It wasn't until she was heading back to her bike that she noticed the mistletoe above the door.

_Disappointment. _That was the feeling.

...

The days passed as usual, neither of them really acknowledging what happened despite the scene replaying over and over again in GoGo's head. Nothing happened, she should stop being so stupid about it. So she locked it away (or whatever you do with irrelevant memories), and they resumed their usual routines of greetings in the lab, café visits (although Hiro gave her an odd look at every arrival), making whatever plans on the weekends. She thought maybe she was spending an extraordinarily disproportionate time with Tadashi more than any other human being, but very few people interested her as much.

No, not _interest_...

There were some differences, though. Like how he'd offer her his jacket even on the days it wasn't cold. Or how she took her bike less and forgot her umbrella more because he'd somehow made his way to her back-up plan. Or how sometimes, after the initial "Good morning," her eyes lingered on him a little longer. (And pulled away before he turned around.)

She found a plastic bag on her lab table one day, filled with... something brown, and she was going to hunt down and _brutally murder_ whoever dumped her lab table with a pile of -

Upon second glance, it wasn't what she initially thought (thank God) but a bag of very lumpy chocolates with a single note attached.

_Happy Valentine's Day! - Hamada_

Her cheeks were aflame, and curse the stupid boy, she knew why.

...

**Spring.**

Sometimes she saw him talking to other girls - in the halls, in the lab, under the cherry trees especially. She wanted to bring down every single one with a chainsaw. But ultimately what she hated the most was that stupid _giddy_ feeling she got when he said hello to her, those - for lack of better description - butterflies in her stomach whenever they made plans for the weekend. Goodness, she wasn't some silly high school girl anymore, and this wasn't a K-drama.

She thought maybe if she gave it down, this... mini-crush (she refused to call it anything else) would dissipate and she'd realize it was the result of spending way too much time with one person. But with every greeting, with every bike ride and banter and evening alone, her heart thrummed more rapidly and she felt like she was sinking lower and lower. What to do about this? She could ask Honey, but why interrupt her once-in-a-lifetime study abroad for her personal drama? Her mother? Ridiculous. She'd probably invite the boy for dinner and start the wedding preparations.

She wasn't close enough to anyone else to vent about this, so GoGo decided to swallow those feelings and try not to think how beautiful he looked brushing the petals out of his hair.

...

"And then I said, 'Percussion? Sounds like it has a lot of _cymbal-ism_." Tadashi made a little _ba-dum tss_ gesture with his hands. "Hah?"

She continued sipping her latte, unimpressed.

"Cymbal-ism."

"Weak."

"You're no fun." He pouted, and dammit, she was going to have a heart attack if that little organ in her chest beat any faster.

"Tadashi!" Cass called from the counter. "_Real _quick, could you help out with the cake pops?"

He looked at GoGo apologetically, whispering, "Be back in a sec" before dutifully following his aunt in the back room. She rested her cheek in her palm, stirring the straw.

"What was up with that?" an adolescent voice asked. She turned to Hiro, who was clutching a broom and wrinkling his nose like he was figuring out a mysterious stain on the carpet.

"What was up with what?"

"Like..." He took a dramatic sigh and fluttered his eyes dreamily, cradling the broom. "That. That's what."

"I was not looking at him like that."

"I didn't mean y - " He leered at her suspiciously. "Are you and my brother... making shortcakes?"

She nearly choked. "Are we _what?_"

"You know... riding the bike. Smashing the glass."

"I have no clue what you're saying."

"To be honest, me neither. All I know is you're practically living here all the time."

She resumed drinking, although her straw was starting to make loud suction noises already.

"You should ask him out."

She blushed fiercely. "Ha ha. _No._"

"You could hang out with him all the time. Outside of the café too. All night, even?" If she wasn't mistaken, the last suggestion sounded hopeful.

"Hiro, how old are you again? Twelve?"

"Fourteen, but that's not important. I mean, my brother is in fact a _great guy_, and there's a good list of reasons why you should reciprocate his interest - "

"What did you just say?" A thousand alarms went off in her head.

"Well, I mean, it's just a suggestion..."

"'Reciprocate his interest'?"

Hiro frowned and crossed his arms. "Yeah, didn't you notice the goo-goo eyes?"

Tadashi? Interest? No way. She was short and crass and spat gum everywhere and made fun of him so much. And all those girls he talked to, there was no... She glared at the broom, then Hiro.

"Shouldn't you be working?"

"What, you don't believe me?" He sighed. "I'm telling the truth! Ask him yourself! Uh, preferably by next Tuesday before six..."

"How about you get back to work now and I'll tell Tadashi to remove those tracking devices from your hoodies?"

"Yeah, that's - he _what?_"

GoGo continued sipping her latte as the young boy bombarded her with questions and desperate pleas until his brother returned and the most he could settle for were disapproving scowls.

...

If there was anything she hated about college, it was that partner projects were still mandatory. Her partner wasn't a bad person; she just hated dependence.

"I can't make it to the café today," she announced, swinging one leg over her bike as Tadashi hopped down the front steps.

"Oh, you busy?"

"Yeah, I'm meeting up with Andrew."

He blinked. "Andrew...?"  
"Cho!" She didn't have time to explain, as her bike was already roaring to life and she'd slammed on the pedals. She couldn't quite make out Tadashi's expression as she sped off, but he probably had other things to do.

...

The two leaned on the railing, watching the petals fall and leave ripples in the koi pond. The occasional fish widened its mouth to swallow, thinking it was food, and the best was when a horde of them battled over the same one. Admittedly, it was one of GoGo's favorite spots on campus.

"It's like those reality shows where you have that weird family cat fighting over nothing," she sighed fondly. "I friggin' love that crap."

"Should I be surprised?" Tadashi joked.

"There was this one I watched where this woman got her wig snatched off and she started smacking her husband with her stiletto..."

"You have really refined taste in entertainment, you know that?"

"I have good taste in _everything,_ excuse you."

"Yeah, I'm sure you do." He readjusted his baseball cap. "So how was Andrew?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Andrew?"

"The guy from Friday?"

"An - Cho?"

"Whatever his name was."

"He was... fine?" Why was her project partner so interesting all of a sudden?

"Just fine?"

"Why does this matter to you?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "I just thought... I kinda thought you'd tell me about that kind of thing."

"What, like I gotta tell you everything that goes on in my life?"

"I'm not saying that! But I mean, if you had a date I understand, I just - "

A lightbulb went off in GoGo's head. _Oh._ She felt a laugh bubbling in her throat and fought to keep her mouth a straight line. "I wasn't - " Choke. "Sorry. He's not - " Giggle. Good lord, did she ever giggle? "We're just - " Really. Loud. Snort. The laughter finally burst from her and she had to hold the railing for support.

"I - What's so funny?" Tadashi asked, dumbfounded.

When at last the outburst died down to a giggle, she sighed and wiped her eye. "Oh, man. _Hic!_" Oh, dammit.

"I literally have no idea what just happened, but..."

"I didn't go on any - _hic!_ \- date. Andrew's my - _hic!_ \- project partner. _Hic!_"

"Oh." A terribly red blush spread over his cheeks. "Oh, that's all?"

Another hiccup cut off her "Yes," so she just nodded.

"Well. _Ahem._ Never mind, then."

"Hamada, I haven't been on a date almost all - _hic!_ \- year. Argh!" She beat at her chest in frustration.

"For real?"

"Is that a surprise to you?"

"I guess not, since you never mentioned it."

"For the record, I _would_ \- _hic!_ \- tell you. But I haven't been interested and - _hic! _\- no one's asked me."

"Why not?"

"What do you mean why not?"

"You're one of the smartest, prettiest - " The color on his face deepened and he developed a sudden itch on the back of his neck. GoGo, on the other hand, was certain either her face would set on fire or her chest would explode. Something about Hiro's_ "reciprocate his interest" _urging replayed. Hiro wasn't lying. Trying to get out of work, but definitely not lying. She owed that kid a thousand rides to bot fights.

"Me too," she mumbled. "_Hic!_"

"Huh?"

She lightly punched him and smiled. "I - _hic!_ \- like you too." The smile immediately faded. "God! It's just the hiccups - "

Tadashi was still blushing, but a beam practically stretched his face out and he was awkwardly clutching his cap. "Can I fix that?"

"_Hic!_" This wasn't what she had in mind - not that she'd daydreamed about this moment. Ever. "FIre away."

It was as if a string that'd been pulled for too long finally snapped. He immediately pulled off his hat and leaned forward, kissing her softly on the lips for a brief second. "As I was saying," he continued with a crooked smile, "you're the smartest, prettiest, most _amazing_ girl I've ever met."

If GoGo been a third party watching this unravel, she would have likely (definitely) cringed and vomited, but at the moment she couldn't give less of a damn of how cheesy and preteen and _utterly embarrassing_ the entire scenario was. But she wasn't about to squeal and jump like a schoolgirl, either.

"Weak, Hamada," she retorted.

"Huh?"

"That kiss was weak." Standing on her tiptoes, she slinked her arm around his neck and pulled him in so their foreheads touched ever so lightly. "_This_ is how it goes."

The space between their lips closed once more.

...

**Late Summer.**

"_We've missed you so much!_" Honey Lemon shrieked, sprinting towards her two friends like a cheetah and crushing GoGo in a tight embrace. She yanked Wasabi and Fred by their collars and beckoned Tadashi over for a group hug.

"We've missed you too," Tadashi said with a laugh.

"Hamada, my man, you won't believe the kinds of superheroes the French got - " Fred yelled.

"Fred, come on, we just got back!" Wasabi chuckled. "Why don't we talk over lunch?"

"That's a fabulous idea, Wasabi!" Honey chirped.

"Lucky Cat?" Tadashi dangled the keys to Wasabi's van. "No worries, I'll drive."

"You godsend, you," Fred chimed.

"Why don't you guys take a break?" GoGo suggested. "I'll go to baggage claim."

"All right," Tadashi answered. "Tell me if you need help." He leaned in and kissed her cheek; neither of them thought anything of it until they heard a gasp. They turned to their friends, whose jaws had dropped and eyes widened with shock.

"Crap," she muttered.

"GoGo! Tadashi!" Wasabi finally yelled. "Explanation_ now!_"


	2. Absence of Farewells

**A/N:** I've had this AU idea thingy in a while because I'm a sucker for reincarnation stories, _especially TRAGIC_ reincarnation stories. The first life is set sometime in the Edo Period, the second in Meiji (post-1885), the third in the 1940s, the fourth in the Millennial era (aka now), and then the canon era, which I'm assuming/going to pretend is a century or so from now. Consider this my contribution to Day 1: Goodbye of Tomadashi Week! ((For the sake of it just pretend they both die relatively early so I have an excuse for small time lapse in between lives.))

* * *

**. Absence of Farewells .**

**AU:** We're friends/lovers who are always incarnated but one of us tragically dies early in every life.

* * *

"Anyway, nice to meet you. I'm Tadashi Hamada." He smiled and held a hand out. Gingerly, she accepted it and shook.

"GoGo," was her simple response followed by a pop of her bubblegum. This guy was cheery. No, not Honey Lemon cheery (god forbid), but enough to make her worry he might bug her and keep chattering while she worked. That ranked pretty high in her pet peeves, right up there with cars in front up her that drove _too damn slowly_.

Hopefully that wouldn't be an issue.

...

_She was a hardheaded daughter of a merchant and he a soft spoken son of a fisherman. In the beginning they'd spent their days hunting for seashells and racing along the shore. She was undoubtedly the faster of the two, but it was up to him to patch up her scrapes and carry her when her ankles pained her._

_As the years passed, their days of seashell hunting and racing were replaced by warm embraces and kisses tasting of sea salt. Their dilemmas were no longer scraped knees and twisted ankles, but the impending arranged marriages and surviving another day with this in mind. Their families needed to see reason, the merchant's daughter decided. What was wrong with a fisherman's son, kind and gentle as he was?_

_That was before the storm and the fisherman who battled it. That was before a filial son ran after him with hopes of saving him. The hopes were in vain, and the merchant's daughter never had so much as a goodbye._

...

Admittedly the doughnuts he brought to the lab weren't bad, even if they were ones his aunt couldn't manage to sell at the café. In any case, she had less complaints if he had anything to say when he passed by her station in he lab.

"Your bike going all right?" he asked.

"Just dandy," she answered. That was a lie. Something about the magnetic suspension was funny. The wheels kept wobbling and fell apart if they so much as touched the ground.

"Good to hear it."

"Mmm." The wheels continued to wobble, and in frustration she yanked it out and threw it in the bin of rejects like a frisbee. Just before she released, however, the edge of the wheel sliced at her finger and she let out a yelp as it landed in the bin with a clanging noise. Immediately the boy in the baseball cap rushed over.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concern in his eyes.

"I'm fine," she said sharply, biting her lip. Crimson blood oozed out of her fingers and fell to the floor in streams.

"That doesn't look too good," he said, examining the cut. "Come to my lab - I have medical supplies."

"I'm f - "

"Look, GoGo, you're getting blood on the floor. It'll only take a few seconds." She frowned. "Please?" he added.

Was he doing puppy dog eyes on purpose? she wondered, half irritated and half amused. The blood was starting to make plip-plop noises on the floor, however, and with reluctance she sighed and agreed to get at least a band-aid.

He was almost as meticulous as Wasabi, insisting on disinfectant and dabbing it gently on the wound. She didn't dare to wince - it was enough having the organization enthusiast act like her mother and she didn't want to waste time by having him stop every five seconds to ask if she was all right. With close precision, he wrapped the bandage around her finger and flashed a satisfied grin.

"All better?" he asked.

She glanced at the bandaged, neatly wrapped and tight. "Um. Yeah, actually. Thanks, Hamada."

"Anytime, GoGo."

...

_She was his wife in the next life, secretly taking pride in her husband's selflessness and desire to help others. That same selflessness brought pain sometimes, though._

_"America?" she whispered, hesitantly holding his hand. "That's so far from Japan. How can you know when you'll be back, if at all?"_

_"If I work hard enough, I'll be back in just a few years," he said, giving her hands a reassuring squeeze._

_"A few years? That's not fast enough."_

_"Nothing is fast enough for you," he noted with a chuckle. "Think of what we could do with the money I earn - maybe I can help pay Ito's treatment or relieve the Oshikas of their debt. We could have a better life when I come back."_

_They wrote after his departure - he wrote about the new sights and people and languages, and she about the markets and neighbors and events at home. But the letters arrived within a month at quickest, then two months. Then seasons. His letters always carried the same apology - for toiling more than writing, for taking longer than he intended. And they always ended with the promise that he was getting closer and would come home soon._

_One day there was no letter. There was never another letter. None of them ever ended with a goodbye._

...

She'd never been in his café before, and her first sip of Lucky Cat Latte didn't disappoint. It scalded the tip of her tongue a little, but it was good enough to keep gulping down. A college girl in midst of finals needed the energy boost, after all. Across the table, she noticed him stifling his laughter.

"What?" she snapped.

He pointed to his own upper lip with one hand and hers with the other. Cautiously, she wiped a finger across her mouth and found a tiny batch of whipped cream.

"Seriously?" she sighed. "That's what's making you giggle like a schoolgirl, Hamada?"

"It's funny," he remarked in between chuckles.

"No it isn't," she retorted, fighting to keep her mouth a straight line.

"It kind of is."

"No." Tadashi snorted, which made the corner of her lips turn up. "Okay, fine, just a little."

"You missed a spot, by the way." Before she could wipe it, he reached over (their faces were getting closer, she noted as she felt a warmth in her cheeks) and brushed the edge of her lip with his finger. Instantly he drew back and cleared his throat. "Um, just in case you missed it, you know."

She resumed sipping her latte and let her bangs fall in her face, hoping to keep it out of sight. It was only a moment later that Tadashi lept from his seat and pounced at a short boy with bushy hair making smooching faces at a mop.

...

_They were young in another life, very young. That didn't stop him from joining the army when the world was at war._

_"I'm loyal to this country," he begged her to understand. "I have to do this."_

_Like how he had to care for his brother, how he had to love her, how he had to leave them forever. She'd known when he left and she'd known before they even got the letter._

_His final goodbye played in her head over and over again like a broken record._

...

Late night lab sessions meant unfinished assignments, last-minute tune-ups, and misplaced tools. They meant hammering headaches, fifty ounces of coffee, heavy eye bags, and sleep deprivation.

Sometimes they meant lost baseball caps, kisses that tasted of mocha, and light snoring. She liked them in that sense.

...

_High school was a trying time for everybody, so who could blame a bunch of kids for wanting to let loose with a few drinks? Who especially could blame the one who stayed sober to bring them back home safely?_

_And who could possibly know why fate decided he, of all people, should skid off the road and tumble into the trees? Why crack his skull and not the girl's beside him?_

_These were the questions she asked herself and never got the answers to. She thought maybe he tried to say goodbye, but all that came out of his mouth was blood._

...

She'd seen him that night when everything was ablaze and suffocating smoke and ashes filled her nose. Amongst the screams, and she pushed her way to him, she heard him say one thing.

"Callaghan's still in there. Someone has to help."

He hadn't meant for it to be a goodbye.

There wasn't ever going to be one.


End file.
